Rail-joint.



J. ISBELL.

RAIL. JOINT. l APPLICATION FILEDFIJB.1H,1913

1,088,581. Ptented Feb. 24, 1914.

WITNESSES ATTORNEY 'f fran sirarns rafrien'r oFFICE- Jorrit rsnnnn, orl Wasrrrneron, Mrssoonr.-

EAIL-JONT.

relates to 'improvements in and to provide a simple, inexpensive and' etlicientA rail joint of greatI strength and durability, designed for use as apermanent rail joint ror'connecting the ends of the rails the coi'istrucrion or laying of tracks, and cepal'iie-`v also of being advantageously empl l, ed .as an'"emergency joint for quickly and 'safely repairing broken rails, and aflaptedv'to enable an injured or detective traclrto be put in proper condition 'for use in a minimum amount of time leasty delay of t attic V .lNitlithese kand other objects in view, the invention fconsi'sts'in the construction and novel.'combination of parts hereinafter fully described, Aillnstinted in the accompanying \i1"og, ai id pointed out in the claim hereto appended;` it being understood that various changes in the forni, proportiomsize and minor details of construction, Within the scope of theclaiin, .may be resorted to with out departingtrom the spirit or sacrilicing :inv olitlicadvantages of the invention.

ln the drawing :llTigure l is a sideeleva' tion ofarail joint, constructed in accordance v'ith this invention. Fig.` 2 is a reverse plan vieivvoi the same. Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectionalv rien/ ofthe rail joint. Fig. 4- is a transifersesectional view on the line left otlig. 3. Alig. "s a perspective 'View ot one'd'l tbegscct-ions or members of the rail :Mii i i Lihenuinerals ref-ion ing parte` in all the tiguresot .in t 1c accoin n., zgdiawin'g inayhich is rated the p eferred embodiment 'ot the in in, ther-ail joint, comprises in its con struction inner and (intersections or member/'s l and 2, each consisting oi Jan angle` ilalatevprovided at one end 'with' an integral chair 3, and hairing at the other end a ta pered or wedge-shaped portion Li, which .cooperates with the chair of the other section or member of the rail joint. The angle Specification of Letters Patent.'

and With the ot reference designate conl tlv und meeuwen-eb. 24;, i914..

l Application file-1 February 18, 1913. Serial No. 749,205.

plates of the 'sections or members of the rail joint tit upon the bottom flanges of the rails 5 and engage under the heads thereof, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 4l of the drawing. The angle plate of the inner section or meinber of the rail joint terminates or has its upper edge'located at the lower face of the head of the rail, and the angle'plate ot the outer section or member is extended to approximately the plane oi' the treads o'l the rails, the top extension or portion 6 being tapered and presenting oppositely inclined upper faces 7` and i jointor meeting ends ot the rails to carry the Wheels across the same and to eliminate jar and vibration and prevent the Wheels from breaking down the rail ends. The angle plates also fit against the webs of the rails, and they.` are secured to the latter by transverse bolts piercing the angle plates and the, Webs ot the rails, which are preterably proi'iided with slightly elongated bolt openings 9, adapted to permit the expansion and contraction ot the rails incident to changes in temperature.

ilach chair, which extends inwardly with respect to the rails, consists ot a. horizontal bottoni plate receiving and supporting the adjacent rail and provided with a tapered or Wedge-shaped llange or engaging portion l0, arranged in spaced relation with the anglo plate of its section or member and presenting an inner angularly disposed tace 'll `for engagement with the Wedge-*shaped porsection or member oit the tion l ot the other rail joint. The \\"ed`geshaped portion l is tapered outwardly and presents an augit larly related side face 1Q to enact with the inner iace ll ot the Wedge-shaped portion l0, and when the two sections. oi'the rail joint are aescinbled, the Wedge-shaped"pon tion lits between the flange ll ot the other section or member of thc rail joint and the adjacent rail, which is -wedged. tightly between'theA coactingsections orrmeinl'iers ot' the rail joint;

' Y" The wedgcehaped portion 1l is 'providt-id'at itsouter vside ltace 'il 'with 'a :pliuifality 'of vertical grooveslor'1'ecesse`s"l3, approximately semicircularin cross section` and adaptedto lret'gist'er 'niithasimilar groove or recess la in" the innerfangiilarlydisposed face ll ofifthe wedge-shaped portion l() to form an opening for the. reception of a bolt or pin l5 to prevent the angle plates 'troni receding or movin g longitudinally ot cach other, The bolt adapted to bridge the- The head of the bolt or l adapted to receive a key or pin 15, which has ahead at its upper end, extends through an opening 16 in the bottom of the chair and projects below the same. pin 15 overlaps the wedge-shaped portions of the coacting members or sections, and the lower end of the ranged beneath andI presenting flat upper faces to the end portions of the rails and overlapping and supporting the same. The supporting lugs are approximately rectangular and have straight are arranged in spaced relation with each other and with the' chairs an\ the said lugs terminate in substantially the vertical planes of the inner faces of the angle plates. The chairs are adapted to rest upon two cross ties and the lugs 19 support the ends of the rails between' the cross ties and prevent the ends of the rails from sagging. Then/chairs are provided at opposite sideswith integral outwardly projectingr approximately horizontal ears 20, preferably located at theend edges' of the chairs and provided with spike receiving recesses 21. The ears, which preferably taper outwardly in thickness, have their lower faces arranged in the plane of the lower faces of the chairs, and thev latter are provided adjacent to the inner ends of the ears with recesses 22, adapted to afford ample space at the heads of the spikes for enside and end edges, and

abling the same to be easily driven into the cross ties in fastening the rail joint to the same. lVhile I have illustrated a spike receiving ear at each side of each chair, any number of such spike receiving ears may, of course, be employed.

In assembling the parts, each section or member is placed on one of the rails with the bottom iianges thereof fitting the chair and the angle plate fitted against the side of the rail. The sections are then broughttoi gether by moving them longitudinally of the rails in overlapping relation, the wedgeshaped portion 4 of each section or member fitting in the chair of the other section or member. The sections or members" are driven together by a mall spike hammer, or other suitable tool, and are secured in their adjustment by the bolts or pins 15.

The raillfjointv besidesbeing adapted for 'use asl a permanent rail joint'may be emenable atrackvtobe repairedv and placed in v proper conditionv in the vshortest possible time and with the least delay of traffic. The chair andthe coacting wedge-shaped portion are wedged together with sufficient binding force in themselves to make a secure joint without'the aid of the transverse bolts. The bolts are an additional factor of security, and any other equivalent fastening means may be employed for this purpose. For in stance, lugs may be substituted for the bolts, the lugs projecting from the inner'side of the outer angle plate and piercing the webs of the rails, the openings for the lugs beingof suilicient size to permit the expansion and contraction of the rails incident in temperature.

What isy claimed is A rail joint including inner and outer'sections comprising angle plates provided with outwardlyextending bottom flanges, the angle plate of the outer section extending to approximately the plane of the treads of the rails and tapered to present oppositelyl inclined upper faces, said sections being also provided at their opposite ends with inwardly extending relatively heavy rail sup'4 porting chairs adapted to be seated upon two to changes l integral transversely disposed thick bottom plate provided at the outer end with a fiange,v

and each angle plate being provided at the outwardly extending bottom flange with an enlarged laterally projecting wedge-shaped portion engaging with the iange of the chair of theA other section, whereby the rails Vare clamped at the ends of the joint, the intermediate portions of the bottom flanges of the angle plates being relatively narrow and provided att-he central portion of the rail joint with integral inwardly projecting rela# tively smallv horizontal vlugs of a thickness considerably less than thatof the bottom plates of the chairs and arranged to extend beneath the rails and spaced from the said chairs and terminating short of each oit-her.`

in substantially the vertical plane ofthe inner faces of the angle plates and supporting@ the terminals of the rails between the cross ties.v

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aihxed' my signature.

in the presence of two witnesses.

- JOHN ISBELL.

Witnesses:

DJ. GREGORY, H. A. Kaos. 

